Looking for her third consecutive top-20 finish for the first time this season, Danica Patrick fell just short at Kentucky Speedway. Despite finishing 21st, she comes into Daytona with confidence and hope that she can notch another top-10 result at the track.

Patrick started on Saturday night in 10th place and was running strong throughout the Quaker State 400, sitting in the top 15 midway through the race. But she struggled down the stretch, as she faded back to 21st and finished as the last car on the lead lap as Brad Keselowski notched his second win of the season.

That's a massive disappointment when considering how strong her car was leading up to the race, as Jeff Gluck of USA Today and Dustin Long of Motor Racing Network noted:

Danica Patrick has been fastest for most of this final Cup practice. How fast? A half-second quicker than eighth-place Jimmie Johnson. (!!)

It wasn't a great finish, but it was still a good showing for the No. 10 machine. Heading into Daytona, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver has reason for optimism after her eighth and 14th results last season at the track.

Before the Sprint Cup officially gets underway at Daytona, here's a look at the standings and latest news for Patrick heading into the Coke Zero 400.

2014 Sprint Cup Chase Grid

Pos.

Driver

Points

Wins

Top 5

Top 10

1

Jimmie Johnson

594

3

6

12

2

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

594

2

9

12

3

Brad Keselowski

560

2

8

9

4

Carl Edwards

536

2

4

8

5

Joey Logano

519

2

6

9

6

Kevin Harvick

509

2

5

8

7

Jeff Gordon

618

1

6

13

8

Kyle Busch

508

1

4

7

9

Denny Hamlin

455

1

4

5

10

Kurt Busch

379

1

3

3

11

Matt Kenseth

555

0

6

11

12

Ryan Newman

514

0

1

6

13

Paul Menard

488

0

3

9

14

Kyle Larson

474

0

3

7

15

Greg Biffle

474

0

2

5

16

Clint Bowyer

473

0

2

6

28

Danica Patrick

322

0

0

1

NASCAR.com

Danica Patrick 2014 Results

Race

Track

Start

Finish

Quaker State 400

Kentucky Speedway

10

21

Toyota/Save Mart 350

Sonoma Raceway

11

18

Quicken Loans 400

Michigan International Speedway

27

17

Pocono 400

Pocono Raceway

16

37

FedEx 400

Dover International Speedway

28

23

Coca-Cola 600

Charlotte Motor Speedway

4

39

5-Hour Energy 400

Kansas Speedway

9

7

Aaron's 499

Talladega Superspeedway

7

22

Toyota Owners 400

Richmond International Raceway

35

34

Bojangles' Southern 500

Darlington Raceway

33

22

Duck Commander 500

Texas Motor Speedway

24

27

STP 500

Martinsville Speedway

10

32

Auto Club 400

Auto Club Speedway

27

14

Food City 500

Bristol Motor Speedway

36

18

Kobalt 400

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

22

21

The Profit on CNBC 500

Phoenix International Raceway

33

36

Daytona 500

Daytona International Speedway

27

40

NASCAR.com

Latest News

Notching yet another top 20 was clearly the goal for Patrick on Saturday night in Kentucky, but she ultimately fell behind due to a multitude of different reasons.

After taking a chance and not pitting on Lap 182, Patrick restarted seventh before quickly falling behind the pack. She ultimately was forced to pit on Lap 214 and fell a lap down, but she was once again rewarded with the "Lucky Dog" and finished on the lead lap just outside of the top 20.

Patrick spoke about her disheartening finish on Saturday night, per USA Today:

I'm disappointed. I know [crew chief Tony] Gibson is too. I'm not sure why it didn't handle well in the last run. It was just too tight. It was good in the first half, but in the second half it wasn't really good. It's disappointing to say the least, because I think we could have finished better. It's too bad for the GoDaddy team.

While she was dealt a poor finish at Kentucky, Patrick still found time to have fun.

The SHR driver was challenged before the race by Clint Bowyer to videobomb him during a pre-race interview on TNT. Much to his surprise, Patrick kept her end of the bargain and gave viewers a treat during the broadcast.

Her fun might not have to stop as the Sprint Cup circuit heads to Daytona for the Coke Zero 400. After nailing down a top-10 finish in her first full-time run at the track during last year's Daytona 500, Patrick captured a 14th-place result in last year's race midway through the season.

Here's a look at Patrick's results at Daytona during her career:

Danica Patrick Daytona Results

Date

Start

Finish

Laps Led

Driver Rating

Status

Feb. 27, 2012

29

38

0

34.9

Running

Feb. 24, 2013

1

8

5

113.4

Running

July 6, 2013

11

14

0

80.9

Running

Feb. 23, 2014

27

40

2

53.6

Accident

DriverAverages.com

She will also be racing in a fresh paint scheme at the Florida track, as the SHR account notes:

Where will Patrick finish at Daytona?

Where will Patrick finish at Daytona?

Win

4.7%

Top 5

9.7%

Top 10

27.7%

Top 20

19.8%

Outside top 20 (comment below)

38.0%

Total votes: 823

Though she hasn't climbed up the standings in the last several weeks, remaining stagnant at 28th, Patrick could overtake boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for 27th this weekend. Just 17 points behind Stenhouse, Patrick could use a strong run to finally move up in the rankings.

On arguably one of her best tracks in the series, Patrick will be looking to finally break through for another top-10 result this season. With just one to her name this year at Kansas, equaling or besting her eight-place finish from 2013 might help turn around the season.